1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to trailer hitches, and particularly to a trailer hitch guide for guiding the tongue of a trailer over the trailer hitch in order to connect a ball and socket trailer hitch.
2. Description of Related Art
Trailer hitches commonly use a socket of the trailer tongue which mates with a ball on a tow bar attached to the towing vehicle to connect the trailer to the towing vehicle. The procedure usually involves jacking the trailer tongue so that the socket is above the horizontal plane of the ball and backing up the towed vehicle in order to align the ball to a position vertically under the socket, and lowering the socket to engage the ball. One of the problems frequently encountered is that the tow bar and the trailer tongue are not visible to the driver of the towed vehicle during the connection process. Consequently, it may take several attempts to properly align the ball and socket, requiring the operator of the towing vehicle to get out of the vehicle and walk to the rear each time and estimate the correction required to obtain the proper angle and distance.
A variety of trailer hitch guides have been proposed to make this process quicker and easier. U.S. Pat. No. 3,879,062, issued Apr. 22, 1975 to D.C. Miller describes a V-shaped towing guide attached to the hitch by vertical arms having a transverse mounted bolt and flexible chain partially wrapped around a support strut. The forces applied to the V-shaped guide are transferred to the towing vehicle by a transverse bar leaning against the license plate of the towing vehicle, or by a rope and vertical arms leaning against the bumper.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,226,438, issued Oct. 7, 1980 to W. L. Collins, shows a one-piece guide including a V-shaped guide at right angles to a plate having a hole so that the plate may be attached to a flat bumper or hitch bar by passing a mounting stud at the base of the ball through the hole in the plate. U.S. Pat. No. 4,871,184, issued Oct. 3, 1989 to R. C. Johnson, teaches a guide assembly with a base plate having a horizontal bottom plate and two vertical angled side walls, the bottom plate having a channel for receiving or sliding onto the base of a ball hitch. The guide also includes a stop plate with a back plate and 2 angled side walls which slide into a slot formed by the base plate, being secured by two inverted U-shaped flanges or brackets on the top edges of the side walls.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,840,392, issued Jun. 20, 1989 to T. N. Baskett, shows a V-shaped fence that attaches to a plate secured to the hitch by the ball, the fence being mounted to the plate by downwardly and rearwardly directed studs which removably fit openings in the plate. The plate includes projections that engage opposite sides of the hitch tube to add lateral stability to the plate. U.S. Pat. No. 5,330,196, issued Jul. 19, 1994 to R. Ricles, teaches a V-shaped guide having a central panel and 2 side panels extending farther down than the central panel in order to define a groove having the same width as the trailer hitch bar, the guide sliding between two vertical panels mounted on the hitch bar, the rear vertical panel being supported by a triangular wedge.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,697,630, issued Dec. 16, 1997 to Thompson, et al., describes a base plate attached to the tow bar by the ball hitch, the base plate having two vertical struts extending backwards and upwards from opposite sides of the base plate, and a socket extending between the struts. A guide plate with two angles plates and a center mounting portion mount in the socket by means of a tongue on the bottom of the center mounting portion. U.S. Pat. No. 5,725,232, issued Mar. 10, 1998 to T. R. Fleming, teaches a base plate with a channel member extending transversely mounted to the underside of the tow bar by a ball hitch. A V-shaped guide with a central alignment plate has flanges depending from the V-guide side panels, a key being inserted through the flanges and channel to secure the guide to the tow bar. The side panels have resilient urethane pads to protect the guide from the impact of the trailer tongue.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,779,256, issued Jul. 14, 1998 to T. V. Vass, shows a V-shaped plate having tubes on the side of the vertical side plates, a pin secured by a thumb screw extending through each side tube, the pin having another side tube welded at the bottom of the pin, the side tube receiving another pin secured by a thumb screw and welded at the end to another pin extending through reinforced holes in a mounting plate.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.